Apparatus for obtaining the leverage weight of athletic implements



Jan. 5 1926.

P. A, VAlLE ET AL APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING THE .LEVERAGE WEIGHT OF ATHLETIC IMPLEMENTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 27, 1925 3:: r &

, M N iw- 3 H mm M Jan. 5 1926. 4 v 1,568,698

P. A. VAILE ET AL APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING THE LEVERAIIE WEIGHT OF ATHLETIC IMPLEMENTS Filed May 27, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 4 34 v Vlllll INVENTORS Pembroke A.Vaile and WWW? W ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 5, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PEMBROKE A. VAILE AND FRANCIS V. ROY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A SSIGNORS TO E. & T. FAIRBANKS AND COMPANY, OF ST. JOHNSBURY, VERMONT, A CORPORA- TION OF VERMONT.

APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING THE LEVERAGE WEIGHT 015 ATHLETIC IMPLEMENTS. Application filed May 27, 1925. Serial No. 33,188.

To all whom it may concern: hook-like member is suspended from the Be it known that we, PEMBROKE A; VAILE, load pivot of the beam, and another, or fula subject of the King of Great Britain, and crum hook-like member is hin edly carried FRANCIS V. ROY, a citizen of the United by the base, directly beneath 51c beam, but

States of America, both residing at Chicaforwardly of the fulcrum pivot thereof. go, in the county of Cook and State of Illi- Both the load and fulcrum hook-like memnois, have invented certain new and useful bers are formed so as to retain in a substanso Improvements in Apparatus for Obtaining tial horizontal osition a resilient clip the Leverage Weight of Athletic Implewhich is adapte for the insertion of' the .10 ments, of which the following is a specificabutt end, or grip portion of a golf club,

tion. tennis racket, base ball bat, or the like,

This invention relates to weighing apwhereby the rear end of the implement to as paratus, and more particularly to devices be weighed will be held in a stationary poused for the purpose of comparing the leversition against the fulcrum hook, while the age weight of sporting and athletic improjecting end of the implement'can swing plements, such as golf clubs, base ball bats, downwardly. The arrangement of the arts tennis rackets, hunting rifles and guns, fish is such that this downward action 0 the 70 in rods and the like. projecting end of the implement will raise he prime object of our invention is to the tip of the beam, and equilibrium can provide means by which sporting and ath then be established by moving the poise, letic implements of varying shapes and with which the beam is provided, outwardsizes may be interchangeably supported 1y to Obtain a balance. from the loadpivot of a weigh-beam, so We will now describe in detail the conthat the leverage weight of such implements struction by which the above and other obma be obtained. jects are attained, reference being had to nother object of our invention is to prothe accompanying drawings in which vide means by which sporting and athletic Figure 1, is a side elevation of a balance 80 implements maybe supported from the load constructed according to our invention, pivot of a weigh-beam so that friction will showing a tennis racket mounted therein;

be reduced to a minimum and a uniform Fi 2, is a plan of the structure shown pull on the beam can be obtained. by Flg. 1, with the tennis racket removed;

Tennis, golf, base ball players, and others Fi 3, is a transverse section taken apengaged in athletic and sporting pursuits proximately on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, ilhave found difficulty in providing identical lustrating in detail the load hook-like 35 spare implements or duplicating those to member;

which they have become accustomed and Fig. 4, is a transverse section taken on the which may have become broken, wornout or line 4-4 of F1 1, illustrating in detail the required repairing. In the past it has fulcrum hook-like member; usually been the custom to stamp such im- Fig. 5, is a detall section taken approxi- 40 plements with a weight that re resented mately on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3; and

- their actual dead weight, but which didnot Fig- 6, is a detail per pective of the clip take into consideration anything concerning used between the load and fulcrum hookthe leverage weight, heft, or feel of the imlike members. plement. It has .usually been understood Referring now to the drawings, the de- 45 that thelevera e weight of any of the imvice comprises a base 10, on which is mountplements used or ath etic and sporting p u1'- ed a stand 11, the upper end of which is poses is of great importance, because an 1mbifurcated to receive a pair of spaced, alinedplement which is not properly balanced, bearings 12. Fulcrumed inthe bearings of uickl causes fatigue and perce tibly rethe stand 11, by means of the laterally prouces th speed and accuracy 0 the user. 'ecting arms of a knife-edge pivot 13, is a Our invention, generally stated, consists am 14 of any ap roved design. At a suitin pivotally mounting a weigh-beam of the able distance to t e rear of the pivot 13,

usual construction on a suitable base. A' the beam is provided with a similarly formed load pivot 15, but, as shown, while the knife-edge of the pivot 13 is down, the knife-edge of the pivot 15 is up.

The front end or tip of the beam is inserted through a trig-loop 16 carried by a stand 17 that is fixed to the base near the end thereof. An adjustable balance ball 18 is mounted on the beam to the rear of the load pivot 15.

A portion of the top of the beam, between the fulcrum pivot 13 and its tip, is provided with notches 19, and the sides of the beam adjacent such notches carry graduations 20. Carried by the beam is a poise 21, which can be of any approved design. By preference, the graduations 20 can indicate fractions of pounds, such as ounces, but, if so desired, graduations for the metric equivalents can be used.

The tip of the beam carries a pivotally mounted loop 22 for receiving auxiliary weights (not shown) for increasing the capacity of the beam beyond the graduations.

As shown particularly by Fig. 3, the load ivot 15 of the beam has sus ended thererom a U-shaped loop 23 in t e bottom of which is secured, by means of a thumb screw 24, the vertically disposed upper end 25, of a hook-like member 26. This member, which is adapted to lie directly beneath the beam, is formed with a lower straight horizontal portion 27, the upper edge of which is of inverted V-form. The portion 25 of the member 26 can be made of any length desired, andthe part thereof that is engaged by the thumb screw 24 is flattened, as at 28, Fig. 5, so that the member 26 will be kept from turning, when it is adjusted in position with respect to the loop 23. It is to be noticed that the member 26 is so pivotally mounted with respect to the beam 14, that it is free to swing in a path coinciding to the longitudinal axis of the beam, but can not swing in a path at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the beam.

Between the stands 11 and 17, the base 10 has secured theretg, directly beneath the beam 14, a block 29 having a vertical open-v ing 30 formed therein, as shown by Fig. 4. The lower perforated end 31 of a hook-like member 32 is received in the opening 30 by means of a pin 33, that passes horizontally through the block. 'In this manner, the member 32 is pivotally connected to the block. In general, the configuration of the member 32 is similar to the main body of the member 26, but the former member is placed,

in an inverted position with respect to the latter member. The member 32 is formed with an upper substantially straight horizontal ortion 34, the lower edge of which is of form. It will also be noticed that the member 32 is so pivotally mounted on the base that it is free to swing in a path at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the beam, but can not swing in the same direction as does the member 26.

On Sheet 2 of the drawings, Figs. 3 and 4. are so placed that the members 26 and 32 are in approximately alined positions when the device is adjusted for balancing a tennis racket (see Fig. 1), and it will be observed that the portion 27 of the member 26 is located a sufficient distance below the portion 34 of the member 32 so that the handle of the tennis racket can be carried in a substantially horizontal position.

As the members'26 and 32 are pivotally mounted, in order to retain them in fixed relation with respect to each other, we utilize an L-shaped clip 36, shown in detail b Fig. 6. The body of the clip is made substantially fiat for bridging the space between the members 26 and 32, and the end of the clip adjacent the member 32 is bent upwardly, as at 37, and then forwardly, as at .38, to provide means for receiving the butt end of the implement to be balanced. It will be noticed that the portion 37 serves as a stop whereby the end of the implements can be successively placed at the same posi tion in the device. This is important in order to obtain accurate comparative balances.

The clip 36 is preferably constructed of some resilient material, such as sheet metal. The end of the clip that is supported by the member 26 is formed with a V-shaped rib 39 for engagement with the portion 27 of the member 26, while the opposite end of the clip is provided with an inverted V-shaped rib 40 for engagement with the lower portion of the member 32, and the upper forwardly projecting portion 38 of the clip is provided with a V-shaped rib 41, that lies directly over the rib 40 and is adapted to engage with the portion 34 of the member 32. The portions of the clip engageable with the member 32 are bent slightly towards each other so that force will be required to insert the butt end of the implement into the device. In this manner the clip can grip the handle portion of the device and hold it firmly in position.

It is to be understood that the distance between the members 26 and 32 is arbitrary, but in actual practice it has been found desirable to make this distance substantially the equivalent to the length of the grip taken by the hands on each class of implements being weighed. Therefore, it can be assumedthat the purpose of the clip 36 is to provide a means by which the implement can be held in substantially the same manner as it would be held by a person so that such implement, when being weighed by this dev1ce, will act, or pull downwardly, in a manner similar to the downward pull on the wrist and arm of a person.

When an implement, such for instance, as

i the tennis racket shown in Fig. 1 has been This action will pull. the member 26 downwardly, and thereby cause the tip of the beam to swing upwardly against the trigloop 16. The poise can then be moved outwardly on the beam to the point where the beam balances the tennis racket.

With the beam provided with graduations having an arbitrary value, and with the clip 36 having an arbitrary length for holding the tennis racket, then the point on the beam at which the poise is set to obtain the balance of the tennis racket and the beam will also be arbitrary.

Now assuming that the beam graduations are fractions of pounds, and the distance between the members 26 and 32 is a known number of inches, then it is possible to accurately determine a value that can be used in comparing the balance of like articles. This value can be computed by multiplying the number of pounds indicated by the position of the poise on the beam by the number of inches between the members 26 and 32, the result being inch pounds. which can be marked on the articles, if so desired. In this manner, replacement of an article having a known leverage weight with a duplicate article having a similar. leverage weight can be readily accomplished.

While we have herein shown and described. our invention used for the purpose of obtaining the leverage weight of a tennis racket, it is to be understood that the device can also be used for a similar purpose with other articles. In so doing, it is possible that the leverage weight of some of the articles will exceed the capacity of the beam, therefore,- additional-weights can be suspended from the loop 22 to increase the capacity of the beam, as has been the custom heretofore in operating various other forms of weighing machines.

Having thus described our invention what we claim is: g 1

1. The combination with a weigh-beam,

of a load member pivoted to swing in a fia'ed path, a fulcrum member pivoted to swing in a path at right angles to said load member, and means connecting the two members for maintaining a fixed distance therebetween.

2. The combination with a weigh-beam having a load member pivoted to swingina vertical path, of a fulcrum member pivoted to swing in a path substantially at right angles to said load member, and means connecting the two members for maintaining a substantially constant distance therebetween.

3. The combination with a pivotally mounted beam having a poise mounted thereon, of a pair of spaced supporting members, one of which members is suspended from the beam and adapted to swing in a vertical path, and the other member being pivotally mounted independent of the beam and adapted to swing in a path at right angles to said first named member.

4. The combination with a pivotally mounted beam having a poise mounted thereon, of a pair of spaced supporting members, one of which members is suspended from the beam and adapted to' swing in a vertical path, the other member being pivotally mounted independent of said beam and adapted to swing in a path at right angles to said first named member, and means for bridging the said members for receiving an article to be balanced by the beam.

5. The combination with a weigh-beam having a load pivot, of a U-shaped loop car- 'riedby said pivot, a hook-like member adjustably suspended from said loop, the lower portion of said member having a V- shaped edge, a fulcrum hook-like member mounted independent of the said beam and in' spaced relation to said first member, said fulcrum member also having a pbrtion formed with a V-shaped edge, and a clip connecting both of said members.

6. The combination with a weigh-beam having a load pivot, of a U-shaped loop carried by said pivot, a hook-like member adjustably suspended from said loop, the lower portion of said member having a V- shaped edge, a fulcrum hook-like member mounted independent of the said beam and in spaced relation to said first member, said fulcrum member also having a portion formed with a V-shaped edge, and a clip connecting both of said members, said clip having ribs for engagingwith said V-shaped portions of both members for the purpose of maintaining a fixed distance therebetween.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto signed our names this 19th day of May, 1925.

PEMBROKE A. VAILE. FRANCIS V. ROY. 

